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Thanks, that's some really good insight! I know with my chickens, my hens seem to like my rooster, but once he's mated with them a couple of times that day, they get tired of it. They won't really run from him when he does his dance, but will back away just momentarily. That's interesting that if a quail hen likes the roo, she will squat as many times as the roo wants to do it. So I guess that means my quail hens definitely don't like the roo! Once the injured male heals up, I wonder if the hens will prefer him to the current male.
I have the quail on 30% protein quail feed, because other folks recommended that it be 28-30% for optimum egg production. I can buy something lower in protein though. So 24% protein is the optimum?
My quail are not easy at all to hold. They keep struggling and flapping and kicking the whole time I hold them. I would imagine it might be this particular line of quail that's like that. With chickens, the difference in friendliness between birds has been like night and day for me, depending on which breed I raised. So I know it's possible for me to raise friendly birds...
All the struggling makes it harder to treat the prolapse, because I can push it in, but then they struggle so violently that it pops back out. Last time I treated them with hemorrhoid cream, I was just really fast at putting them back in the cage as soon as I put the cream on. So fingers crossed that that worked.
I have the quail on 30% protein quail feed, because other folks recommended that it be 28-30% for optimum egg production. I can buy something lower in protein though. So 24% protein is the optimum?
My quail are not easy at all to hold. They keep struggling and flapping and kicking the whole time I hold them. I would imagine it might be this particular line of quail that's like that. With chickens, the difference in friendliness between birds has been like night and day for me, depending on which breed I raised. So I know it's possible for me to raise friendly birds...
All the struggling makes it harder to treat the prolapse, because I can push it in, but then they struggle so violently that it pops back out. Last time I treated them with hemorrhoid cream, I was just really fast at putting them back in the cage as soon as I put the cream on. So fingers crossed that that worked.
Yes, females will squat for the male to mount her and make little cheeping noises, and are happy to do it as many times as he wants to, as long as they like him. They are very patient! If they don't like him they will try and run away, and generally act anxious. Males can be relentless so if you can remove him and see if everything calms down it might be a good idea. The girls should all be fine together - just keep an eye on them. They have great memories and I have changed around my groups from time to time and they seem to remember each other, despite not having seen each other in a year, though they would've still been close enough to hear each other.
A good male will also tidbit food for his girls, rumbling to tell them this is good to eat, and let them eat first of course. Our first male also built nests for his girls to lay in. He's still alive and has always been a sweetheart. We recently had a young boy we wanted to keep but we didn't have any girls for him. He lived on his own for awhile and would start rumbling whenever we gave him treats, tidbitting to his imaginary girlfriends. It was very cute.
A not so nice male isn't as polite!
I know chickens that often lay double yolkers are more prone to prolapse so the same is probably true of quail. I've never had a double yolker from mine or experienced prolapse (touch wood). It may just be that, because they have been bred to be bigger birds, they may experience more problems the longer they live, having been bred to slaughter young and give a good sized 'meal'. Or it could be stress playing a part causing them to release two at the same time, creating bigger eggs etc. My quail are just standard sized and at 2 years of age are all still fit as fiddles and the girls still lay daily, though I've always allowed them a break over winter.
What percentage of protein is in the food you are feeding them? Too high a protein content can cause larger eggs which in turn can cause prolapse. I cannot get gamebird feed where I live in New Zealand so mine get Meatbird Crumble which is 20% protein, with egg or sprouted alfalfa as treats to make up the shortfall. I think most people have their laying quail on 24% protein.
I hope you sort this out as they really are sweet little things. Our kids love them as they are so easy to pick up and hold.